Voice AI agents - The complete guide to voice chat

Today, customers do not wish to engage with a business to address straightforward concerns such as changing personal account details or getting an order cancelled. They prefer using automated self-service options in the form of a mobile application or a business chatbot setup. But now, they demand the expediency of somebody resolving their queries over voice commands and voicebots offer that convenience.

Voice AI agents, also known as conversational voice agents or voice assistants, are advanced AI systems that communicate with users through spoken language. By utilizing natural language processing (NLP) and speech recognition technologies, voice AI agents offer a convenient and seamless experience, enabling hands-free and intuitive interactions.

What are voice AI agents?

Voice AI agents are like intelligent software assistants that use conversational artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and respond to callers using their voice. They make it easy for callers to navigate through an interactive voice response (IVR) system by simply speaking naturally, without the need to listen to menus or press numbers on a keypad. It’s like having a conversation with a human operator, but in this case, it’s in fact a virtual AI-powered bot.

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A voicebot can understand what callers are asking for and respond using everyday languages and dialects. This is done using conversational AI and machine learning technology which essentially helps teach computer systems how to understand human language and intentions expressed through words.

Voice AI agents offer a superior layer of customer service that today’s growing businesses need to cater to the increasingly digital savvy customers. In this guide, we will be taking a deep dive into the realm of voice AI agents – a fairly new, yet transformational technology.

What is the purpose of using a AI voicebot?

A voice AI agents must address customer troubles instantly. Since voice is the fastest form of human interaction, faster than keying in queries and traversing drop-down menus using a mouse. Consequently, voice AI agents present enormous opportunities to elevate the customer service levels a business offers.

We are a group of multi-taskers and love to listen to podcasts while biking and make and receive calls while driving. That makes voice AI agents both a reliable and useful alternative as your customers will surely be carrying out many other tasks simultaneously.

You can converse with a voicebot at any time of the day. Using voicebots, customers can get in touch with the contact centre from anywhere and at any time. Therefore, you do not have to wait in line to speak with an agent or be compelled to make a call during business hours. Customer service can be enhanced markedly through the immediacy of these bot-driven chats.

Thanks to the power of AI, voicebots upgrade their responses constantly based on the behaviour and history of the customer. Even when they fail to offer a customer the right response, they learn and contextualize from these chats to give the right responses in the future.

However, creating a voicebot that genuinely echoes your brand’s tone of voice and that could recognize the context and content of a customer’s request poses a significant challenge that can only be conquered with the help of experts.

Learn more about the use cases of voice AI agents.

How does a voice AI agent function?

AI-powered voice recognition bots comprehend the speaker’s request through natural language and voice recognition in real-time without human intervention and use it to converse with the caller with a high success rate of up to 98%. To develop a strong, voice AI agents, you will need the following key elements:

1. Automatic Speech Recognition that listens to the request made by the caller
2. Natural Language Understanding that comprehends the speaker’s demand
3. Conversations Module that establishes the correct response
4. Text-to-Speech System that responds to the speaker’s query

Automatic speech recognition

When a caller speaks out, the system identifies his voice using Voice Activity Detection. The caller’s voice is transformed into text through speech recognition. These two elements make up the automatic speech recognition engine and let the voice get transcribed into text format.

Natural language understanding

With the introduction of Natural Language Understanding, the voice control bot can accomplish a greater level of understanding. Through Natural Language Understanding a voicebot manages to realize the purpose behind the caller’s speech and distinguish and obtain aspects that propel the conversation forward.

Conversation module

Contextual chat allows users to interact effortlessly and does not push them to follow a particular course. The conversational style centres on the context of the user request, recognizing the intent, and collecting all the relevant information through entirely natural, unstructured discussions.

Text-to-speech

Text-to-Speech converts text into genuine speech. It is a computer-generated reproduction of human speech created through deep learning techniques.

What are the different types of voice bots and voice AI agents?

Voice agents fall into a few categories based on their methods of interpreting speech, their interaction with speakers, and their applications. The most common categories of voice AI agents include:

• Rule-based voicebots, which follow predetermined rules for engaging speakers
• AI-assisted voicebots, which can learn new rules for carrying on conversations
• Conversational voicebots, which can carry on discussions in natural language
• Personal voicebots, which use predetermined commands and rules to help users perform programmed tasks
• Voice-activated assistants, which use natural language to engage users and help them perform a flexible range of tasks

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Let’s compare these different types of voicebots:

1. Rule-based voice bots

Rule-based voicebots, also known as simple voicebots, use predefined sets of questions and rules to provide answers or perform tasks. For example, a banking voicebot might assist with options such as checking account balances, finding the nearest ATM, or updating the address associated with an account. Rule-based voicebots excel at handling FAQs and routine tasks. They only can carry on conversations and perform tasks within their predetermined limits, so they sound and act robotic. They can’t learn without additional programming.

2. AI-assisted voice bots

AI-assisted voicebots, also known as smart voicebots, use machine learning to analyze natural language input and learn new rules for interpreting conversations. They can use the context of conversations to interpret the speaker’s intent before answering questions or performing tasks. This intent analysis makes them sound more natural than rule-based voicebots while giving them more flexibility for responding to speakers. Examples of AI-assisted voicebots are Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant.

3. Conversational voice bots

Conversational voicebots are voicebots that can carry on discussions using natural language. They use AI and natural language understanding to let speakers carry on conversations using everyday speech. Most conversational voicebots are AI-assisted voicebots, distinguished mainly by an emphasis on applications that stress natural conversation. Some conversational voicebots are hybrids that combine features of rule-based and AI-assisted voicebots, using rule-based responses for routine questions and tasks and AI for more complex conversations.

4. Personal voice bots

Personal voicebots are rule-based voicebots designed to help speakers perform specific practical tasks. They can answer a predetermined range of questions and perform a limited set of functions. They often serve to support customer service and sales departments. For instance, they can automate routine procedures such as answering FAQs or placing outbound calls.

5. Voice-activated assistants

Voice-activated assistants are AI-assisted voicebots that use natural language to help speakers answer practical questions and perform daily tasks. They have more flexibility than personal voicebots to adapt to speakers and perform customized tasks. AI-assisted voicebots installed on mobile devices like Siri often serve as voice-activated assistants.

Benefits of voice AI agents solution

Voicebots benefit business operations in many ways. Read on to learn about the key advantages of investing in voice automation:

1. Connect with customers using innovative voice AI technology

With scientific innovations in NLP, smart voice control bots have developed the ability to simulate the nuances in speech. This is a progression of natural language and must be heard to be understood. AI today is a driving force in communication.The time when voice machines drove callers to the edge is certainly a thing of the past. There is no need to worry over enormous language menus, where we were expected to choose from certain keywords and then broadcast them forcefully. The conditions today are incredibly different.

2. Scale-up business processes with voicebot

Humans are trained to cope with two to three chats at a time. On the other hand, voicebots can manage without any limit. Firms can easily scale up or down customer service depending on the inflow of calls.

3. Handing off

Voicebots understand when they must pass a customer on to a human. Despite being extremely smart and sophisticated, there will be times when voicebots cannot offer all the right answers. Though voicebots stand out at giving straightforward, FAQ-based responses, such as informing about business hours and return policies, but when the customer query becomes more complex, they are capable of handing the call over to a human agent to address the situation.

4. Customized relationships from voice AI agents

Voice-based interactions present new possibilities to provide superior personalized relationships. For example, with voice recognition, voicebots can instantly authenticate the customer and use the customer’s history with a brand to provide tailored answers. Interactive voicebots enable a user-friendly element to the customer service experience, considering the conversational setting of the technology. In the end, as humans, we are more impulsive in verbal chats in contrast to thought-out text-based exchanges.

5. Voice bot will help reduced customer service contact rate and lower operational costs

This is possibly the major benefit for businesses in having voicebots. They boost resources and reduce contact rates by computerizing basic customer chats that do not mandate interventions from live agents. Besides, contact centre agents are released from handling tedious, tier-1 support queries and they get the freedom to focus on more intricate customer concerns.

6. Voicebot makes ease of integrations

Voicebots can flawlessly and easily integrate with the customer support technology stack and telephony structure. This makes self-service, autonomous alternatives quite sophisticated and offers voicebots superior capabilities.

7. Cut waiting times and enhance customer service quality

Several people continue to doubt the quality of customer service when it comes to voice automation. However, this apprehension is misplaced as there is no reason to question a voicebot used to answer queries that can be resolved automatically and swiftly regardless of the time of the day. When given the option of waiting longer to speak to a person, or presenting an answer right away from a voicebot, many go with AI. Eventually, the crucial factor for a constructive customer experience is not the condition of having talked to a real human being, but whether the concerns of the customer were expertly and promptly recorded and settled. In fact, today the technology has advanced to such an extent that the end-user often fails to tell that it is a bot answering them.

Watch this webinar to know more about the benefits of using voicebots for your business.

Benefit of voice AI agents for different industries

Voice AI agents in banking and financial services

As per a McKinsey report, the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in mobile banking worldwide. Predictably, the speedy move from brick-and-mortar sites to digital outlets has also prompted several banks to employ voicebots. Banking Voicebots are helping banks handle customer service in the following ways:

Handling outbound calls

At times, banks feel the need to run a promotional outbound campaign. This is where voicebots help banks call hundreds or even thousands of prospective customers. If a customer is keen on getting to know the details, the voicebot can relay the call to an agent. Voicebots also help banks run customer service assessment surveys.

Authenticating customers

Before an agent can help out with a query involving a customer’s bank account, they must validate their identity. This can be difficult to scale up and frequently leads to long backlogs. With voicebots, banks can run the whole client verification process without engaging with a human. The voicebot can request the caller to share details about their data, swiftly run it by the system, and confirm their identity and the same procedure can be carried out for thousands of clients simultaneously.

Blocking stolen or lost credit and debit cards

When looking through a customer experience standpoint, this is perhaps the most useful power that banks can bestow on voicebots. Customers will not have to wait anymore to talk to an agent while worrying whether the burglar is withdrawing funds from your credit line or account.

Managing bank accounts

Once the client is verified, the voicebot doesn’t have to hand over the call to an agent immediately. There are several tasks it can do autonomously, such as examining the account balance, carrying out money transfers, verifying credit scores among other things.

Voice AI agents in utilities

AI voicebots are making a positive impact in the utilities industry in several ways:

1. Customer support and self-service: Voicebots assist utility customers by providing instant and automated responses to inquiries related to billing, account information, service disruptions, and payment options. They offer self-service functionalities, allowing customers to report issues, schedule appointments, and obtain information without the need for human intervention, resulting in faster and more efficient customer support.
2. Energy usage monitoring and recommendations: Voicebots can provide real-time information about energy consumption, allowing customers to track and manage their usage. They can offer personalized recommendations on how to reduce energy consumption, optimize efficiency, and lower utility bills. This empowers customers to make informed decisions about their energy usage and conservation efforts.
3. Outage reporting and updates: AI voicebots enable customers to report power outages and receive updates on the status of restoration efforts. By interacting with voicebots, customers can quickly report issues and receive estimated restoration times, reducing the need for phone calls or waiting on hold during peak outage periods.
4. Smart home integration: Voicebots can integrate with smart home devices and utility systems, allowing customers to control various aspects of their energy usage. Customers can use voice commands to adjust thermostats, turn lights on or off, or manage other connected devices, promoting energy efficiency and convenience.
5. Proactive notifications and reminders: Voicebots can send proactive notifications and reminders to customers about upcoming maintenance schedules, bill payments, or service updates. This helps customers stay informed and ensures they are aware of any important events or changes related to their utility services.
6. Data analytics and insights: Voicebot interactions generate valuable data on customer preferences, inquiries, and service usage. Utilities can analyze this data to gain insights into customer behavior, identify patterns, and improve service offerings. This data-driven approach enables utilities to better understand and cater to customer needs, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.

In summary, AI voicebots are aiding the utilities industry by providing efficient customer support, promoting energy conservation, facilitating smart home integration, offering proactive notifications, and enabling data-driven insights for improved service delivery.

Quick service restaurants (QSR)

The use of voice bots in QSRs is growing rapidly. Here are the key reasons for its increasing popularity:

1. Unfailing brand experiences
2. Enhanced sales through upselling
3. Lower operational costs
4. Accurate ordering
5. Faster, more expedient customer service
6. Superior hygiene
7. Tailored voice experiences
8. Conversational interfaces

If your business has not introduced voice technology yet, you may like to think about the benefits it offers before your customers leave you for a voice-enabled competitor.

Customers today look for extraordinary experiences when they dine out, order in or drive-thru and voicebots can help bring quick results.

Voice AI agents in healthcare

In the healthcare sector, hospitals can employ voicebots to help patients in searching for a doctor within their neighborhood and in accordance with their healthcare requirements. Voicebots ask patients questions about their pin code and medical speciality and then provide them with suggestions that meet their criteria.

Voice AI agents in retail and e-commerce

AI voicebots are playing a significant role in transforming the retail industry in several ways:

1. Enhanced customer experience: Voicebots provide personalized and interactive experiences, allowing customers to ask questions, get product recommendations, and receive assistance in real-time. They can help streamline the shopping process, provide information on product availability, and offer tailored suggestions based on customer preferences.
2. Voice-activated shopping: Voicebots enable customers to make purchases using voice commands, simplifying the buying process and making it more convenient. Customers can add items to their shopping carts, place orders, and make payments using voice instructions, creating a frictionless shopping experience.
3. Virtual shopping assistants: Voicebots act as virtual shopping assistants, helping customers navigate through product catalogs, providing detailed information about products, comparing prices, and answering inquiries. This can reduce the need for human assistance and improve customer satisfaction.
4. Voice-enabled customer support: Retailers can utilize AI voicebots to provide efficient and round-the-clock customer support. Voicebots can handle common queries, offer self-service options, and escalate complex issues to human agents when necessary, resulting in faster response times and improved customer service.
5. Data insights and analytics: Voicebot interactions generate valuable data on customer preferences, inquiries, and shopping patterns. Retailers can analyze this data to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends, enabling them to make data-driven decisions, personalize marketing efforts, and improve overall business strategies.
6. Integration with smart devices: AI voicebots can be integrated with various smart devices, such as smart speakers and voice-activated assistants in smartphones, enabling retailers to reach customers through multiple touchpoints and enhance their presence in the connected home ecosystem.

Overall, AI voicebots are revolutionizing the retail industry by providing personalized experiences, improving customer service, simplifying the shopping process, and generating valuable insights for retailers.

From tailored experiences and natural interactions to fostering hygiene and faster service, in the end, the benefits of having voice-enabled customer interactions amount to contented and devoted customers. Businesses must assess their voice strategies to stay a step ahead of their rivals and make their customers come back for more.

Features of voice AI agents

Here are the key features a voicebot must possess to ensure a smooth conversation:

• The ability to wait & listen: The argument around intent understanding makes it obvious that the standard set for AI assistants such as voicebots is quite high. While the customer would like the bot to be a ‘good listener’ so it can ascertain the next moves or stop when the customer on the other end is speaking, you also would like the bot to have the ability to make the motive of its call clear.
• Personalization: A customer wants fast responses when he calls a business. This involves the ability to relieve their trouble to somebody more accomplished as quickly as possible. So, it is annoying to raise the number of steps a caller has to go through. For instance, after taking the trouble of calling a business, a customer gets frustrated when he is asked to navigate an IVR to identify themselves, select the pertinent options to classify the reason for the call, before finally explaining the problem. Here, bringing the idea of personalization is key to enhancing customer experience through voicebots.
• Access to agents: One of the objectives of a voicebot is to help agents in fulfilling customers’ demands. Bots are not there as an alternative to agents. During a call, a customer has the choice to talk to an agent. This need not happen under all circumstances but must be based on pre-defined user-oriented fallback guidelines.
• Ability to learn continuously through AI: Comprehending human speech is an intricate endless pit and an apparently never-ending procedure. Often we humans misconstrue and misinterpret each other’s words. In this respect, voicebots have managed to achieve a lot. An AI-driven voicebot, for example, knows this truth and never stops learning. It constantly enhances its predictability and accuracy based on prior results.
• Intent analysis – The power to recognize meaning: This is possibly the most important feature. Subtext and understanding are critical during an interaction. Unfortunately, as humans, we are not always to the point when we talk. Given this fundamental human paradox, a voicebot must have the ability to use its ‘Intent Analysis’ or the power to obtain the meaning behind our statements.
• Ability to offer a quick response: Like most other technologies, speed is of the essence for an enjoyable, effective experience. A decent voicebot must be able to understand and act at the same speed at which the customer talks. Delays and sluggish responses cause annoyance and build a bad impression of the business.

How voice AI agents help in customer service and enhance customer experience

Voicebots are the future of chatbots and enhance the customer experience in the following four ways:

Engage customers proactively

Voicebots save both time and money by reaching out to customers with appointment reminders, offers/discounts, due dates, renewals, and customer feedback assessments.

Deliver a coherent and broad customer experience

Voicebots guarantee that customers have inclusive conversations. A human agent is often not fluent in different languages to resolve customer inquiries globally. Voicebots triumph over this obstacle and ensure that all customers get the same degree of service, irrespective of their language.

Quick response times

Voicebots ensure that customers are not kept waiting to speak to an agent. Even if the voicebot fails to address a problem, responding to the call immediately, instead of making them wait, can stop a customer from getting annoyed.

Offer quick, straightforward, and autonomous customer service

Unlike humans, voicebots are available 24/7, ensuring customers get information and have their issues resolved at any time. Customers are getting answers to general questions as well as to the more pressing demands, such as revoking a lost/stolen credit card.

Yellow.ai’s voice AI solutions and how it can help your business scale!

Yellow.ai is a leading provider of Voice AI solutions for enterprises. Yellow.ai voicebots aka dynamic voice AI agents, empower customers with human-like interactions through voice AI agents to deliver humanized and personalized conversations at scale. adept at active listening, context-switching, and delivering personalized responses. Our virtual customer assistants guide customers every step of the way through:

• Onboarding/welcome calls
• Reminder calls
• Notification calls
• Feedback/survey calls
• …and much more

Trusted by over a thousand global brands such as MG Motors, Bajaj Finserv, BPCL, Waste Connections, and Tata, Yellow.ai helps enterprises from world over optimize cost savings, accelerate time-to-market, and ensure superior customer experiences 24/7 through cutting-edge Voice AI solutions.

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